The Affordable Care Act was designed specifically to help people such as those we saw on the video. People end up bankrupt, working dead end jobs, or even dying as a result of the poor healthcare this country offers. Working in the Medicaid office I have people come in here every day to apply. If you are not a US citizen, under the age of 19, or pregnant, you are out of luck. “What am I supposed to do?”, they ask me. All I can do is refer them to the new FFM (the marketplace), and hope they find something there.
Unfortunately it is too late for some of those people we saw on the video, such as Nicky, the young woman with lupus. With the implementation of the ACA, she would have been able to continue under her parents’ insurance until the age of 26 instead of being kicked off after she graduated from college. This also would have been beneficial for Matt, the recent graduate working at a hardware store only so he can afford the medication for his gastric issues.
The ACA has new insurance rules, such as companies being banned from rescinding peoples’ coverage when they become ill. We saw in the video what happened to Jennifer after she was hospitalized for cancer then rescinded because she didn’t report abnormal spotting. Premium subsidies will help people such as Patricia, the woman who had an appendectomy but could not afford cataract surgery since she quit her job to tend to her sick mother. It will also benefit Paul, the 58 year old who went into bankruptcy after suffering a heart attack. It will allow people with pre-existing conditions such as Ben, the man who had a heart attack and couldn’t find insurance afterwards, have access to affordable insurance. Small business tax credits will help people such as the family of four living in Massachusetts who could not afford the high premium rates.
The ACA has some of the same principles as the healthcare system in Switzerland. Everyone has to buy insurance and the state pays for the poor. I do not believe we will ever have a government run healthcare system or regulated price for everything like in Tokyo or Germany. Although it seems to work well in those countries, Americans have different ideas when it comes to government interference or regulation of prices since this country believes so much in capitalism.
I sincerely hope once all the initial kinks are worked out of the system our healthcare will be up to par with other industrialized nations.
Victoria, it would be beneficial for America to have a healthcare system like Germany, England, and China. But it makes me wonder what our financial state would be if that did happen. I think things would be much worse if that were to happen. Taxes would surely skyrocket. I would like to see how that would turn out.
VChen,
I had the same thought as you about the comparison of the ACA to Switzerland’s healthcare. However, I could see the American healthcare system becoming more like Tokyo’s with time. Right now, the ACA is controversial and Americans have yet to see the benefits. The fact that there is no appointment needed to see a doctor in Tokyo is something I believe Americans would eventually like to adopt as well. We all have complained about the waiting times at doctor’s offices at one point or another..! 🙂
Tori,
The irony of all the debates to me is that the ACA and the policy entrepreneurs who designed it were concerned about those who would not be able to afford coverage. That is why the ACA included the expansion of medicaid totally funded by the federal government.
Yes, it is unfortunate that GA opted out of that. I see people everyday who are just slightly over the income limit and would have qualified if medicaid have been expanded here.
Thanks for your post.
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